New recordings like those currently being released by Taylor Swift are said to be made more difficult by contract changes.
For musicians there could soon be a change in contracts with major record companies. Anyone who signs a new contract with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group will find it more difficult than before to re-record their own music after signing the contract – as Taylor Swift is doing now. Artists should even be banned from doing like Swift for ten years or even longer after their first recording.
Attorney Josh Karp comments on the planned contract changes via “Billboard”: “When I saw the new UMG contracts for the first time, I tried to get rid of them completely. I just thought: What is this? That’s strange. Why should we agree to further restrictions than we have agreed to in the past with the same label?”
Until now, artists have not been able to approach their re-recordings completely freely, but usually only had to wait around five to seven years after the first release or until two years after their contract with the record company expired.
Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun
The best-known case of successful new recordings at the moment is Taylor Swift with her re-recordings. After music mogul Scooter Braun bought her former label Big Machine in 2019, she re-recorded six of her eight studio albums with the addition of “(Taylor’s Version)” in order to regain control of her masters. UMG, Sony and Warner now want to try to prevent a similar scenario for their artists.
License agreement instead of label contract
Artist representative and attorney Josh Binder explains to Billboard on the issue: “The labels’ position is: ‘Hey, if we’re going to spend a bunch of money to create this brand with you, then you shouldn’t try to sell records “make things that compete with us.” We’re trying to fight it. We try to make it as short as possible. But I don’t think it’s the most compelling issue to fight.”
Instead of fighting against it, some artists and lawyers are moving towards licensing agreements. Instead of the traditional label contracts in which the label owns everything, the musicians should be able to continue to call their masters their own while the labels monitor distribution.